酒店 (jiǔ diàn) — hotel; (regional) restaurant, dining hall

Definition

The everyday word for 'hotel' (place to sleep). It can also mean 'restaurant' in some regions — for 'restaurant' in general, 饭店 and 餐厅 are clearer.

noun
hotel(regional) restaurantdining hall
Measure word · 家

Examples

  • 酒店，。
    Zhè jiā jiǔ diàn hěn gān jìng, zhù dé hěn shū fu.
    This hotel is very clean and comfortable to stay in.
  • 酒店。
    Jīn wǎn wǒ men qù jiǔ diàn chī fàn ba.
    Let's go to the restaurant for dinner tonight.
  • 酒店？
    Nǐ zhù zài nǎ ge jiǔ diàn?
    Which hotel are you staying at?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

酒jiǔalcohol
店diànshop

酒 points to alcohol, and 店 to a shop, together giving a wine shop or hotel.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
酉
酉yǒu酒jiǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酒 pairs 酉, the original picture for this word, with 水 (water), added later to distinguish it.

Open 酒 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
广广guǎnghouse built to depend on a cliff
Sound part声符shēngfú
占
占zhàn店diàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

店 shows 广, a house built to depend on a cliff, and 占, which gives the sound.

Open 店 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 2AccommodationDining & Restaurants2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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